


Last Exile: Beyond the Sky

by Csilla_Aria



Series: Beyond the Sky [1]
Category: Last Exile
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-22
Updated: 2010-11-05
Packaged: 2017-10-12 20:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/128526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Csilla_Aria/pseuds/Csilla_Aria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexpected survivor brings hope, but there is still much to do, and no one is out of danger yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Finding

Vincent watched Sophia as she discussed the weather controllers with members of the newly reformed Guild Council. The news wasn't good. So far it seemed they were beyond repair. The loss of the Grand Stream had provided a temporary reprieve, as evidenced by the short but violent storms that raged over the two countries as the air of both was finally able to truly mix. But Disith would continue to freeze, and the rain would eventually stop. Exile, and the blue planet their ancestors had fled were the only hope for the people of Prester.

He really wished she would take the time to rest but the Empress had continued her work non stop since the Maestro's defeat the day before. Sophia hadn't slept staying up through the night helping to organize search parties for possible survivors until David, and Nestor had taken charge of the recovery efforts both men telling her to rest. She had nodded given that polite, vacant smile she kept using, which honestly was starting to _worry the hell out of him_ , and had gone to work on other things the moment they left. The crew of the Silvana was just as worried as he was it seemed. At the moment Wina Lightning was keeping an eye on her under the guise of "Temporary Secretary to the Empress"

The guild city itself, which had become a command center, and meeting ground for all three nations was in a minor state of chaos at the moment with injured from all sides of the conflict arriving for medical treatment. The technology that had nearly killed them all now being used to save as many lives as possible. The Guilds medical staff along with people brought from both the surface countries was working overtime, which was why he was a bit surprised to recognize Isis Actias, the eldest daughter of the guilds chief surgeon and head of hospital staff approach Sophia as the council members parted ways.

Isis bowed at the waist to both of them. "I apologize for the interruption Your Highness, but Father has requested your presence at the hospital, as soon as you are able."

Sophia nodded, smiling slightly at the girl. "Of course, What does Dr. Actias need."

Isis hesitated biting her lip before continuing. "...It..is...It would probably be best if you saw for yourselves."

Vincent and Sophia exchanged looks out of the corners of their eyes. _"Dio"_ they thought together. Someone must have found the boy who was now technically Maestro of the guild.

Vincent smiled at the nervous girl it what he hoped wasn't a threatening manner. "Lead the way."

* * *

Dr. Iakona Actias was waiting for them outside the medical sector when they arrived. He was a tall slender man in his late fifties, with short cropped grey hair. He looked like the typical guilds' man until you noticed the cigarette in his hand. This earned him a murderous glare from Isis.

"Father..." Actias waved her off in a manner that suggested this was a frequent occurrence, putting the cigarette out against the wall. Which caused his daughter to give out an outraged squeak. "Father!"

Actias ignored her angry outburst. "Did you tell them?"

Isis' anger was replaced by the same nervousness she'd had when she'd found them. "I... wasn't sure how to explain."

Actias gave out a quiet grunt before turning to the automatic doors of the hospital.

"No point in spoiling the surprise I suppose. This way, there is someone you should see."

They followed him through the halls, to Vincent the medical sector was disturbingly quiet, and even more disturbingly odorless. It was better than the smells of bleach and other scents he had always classified as "Hospital smells" he supposed, but he wished he could smell something besides this mornings coffee on his own breath. He had several questions but the atmosphere kept him silent. He wondered if it was having the same affect on Sophia. Wina who had followed them looked very unhappy about being there. Though he realized that may be because many of the Silvana's crew weren't ready to trust the guild yet.

The doctor stopped at a recovery room that had two guild guards standing at the door. Giving a curt nod the young men he opened the door and stood aside for the three to enter. As Sophia passed Actias placed a hand on her shoulder. "Before you go in, I want to assure you he's not nearly in as bad a shape as he looks."

Sophia blinked at him before turning her head to look at the sole occupant of the room, and gasped. Vincent had to remind himself to breath as he followed her to the bed. Somewhere behind him he heard Wina squeak. When he turned she was already gone hurried footsteps echoing down the hall.

He turned back toward the bed and wondered if he had walked into some strange dream. Of all the people it could have been, he'd never expected to see _Alex_ lying there. He'd never thought he'd see Alex again, and yet there he was. He did look pretty bad covered in bruises, cuts, and Vincent noticed what looked like a bad burn just peaking out from beneath the thick bandage covering his right shoulder and neck. The Captain's right arm was encased in a heavy cast, while the left was strapped down with an IV in it. He was also hooked up to several complicated looking machines.

He looked like death warmed over, but when he thought about the situation. Vincent reminded him self Alex actually looked really good. _"That's right Vincent! Think positive, Some kind of miracle has just happened....Would this be considered a miracle?"_ Vincent thought to himself as he watched Sophia siting in an uncomfortable looking chair next to the bed. Her left hand laid gently over Alex's own, her right hand running through his dark hair which looked even more in need of a comb than usual.

She was smiling, crying a bit too, but her smile was the first genuine one she'd had since he had first met with her after the war had officially ended. Vincent decided not to disturb her and turned to Dr. Actias, who was talking quietly with Isis, and her younger sister Luna, who didn't look much older than Alvis. Both girls nodded when their father had finished and left together with out a word. He walked over to the doctor watching the girls walk down the hall, he couldn't stop himself from asking. "Luna is awfully young to be working in the hospital isn't she?"

"She's in training." Actias replied. "Children in the guild are by tradition trained to follow the professions of one of their parents. They always begin training at an early age. I also have son, Atlas who works with their mother training students in the various martial arts of the guild. There are exceptions of course. Yearly exams, and such to determine if a child might not do better in another field. I could go on about guild traditions for hours, but I'm sure you have other things you would like to discuss?"

Vincent blinked. "Uh...Right, um...How..I mean..Alex was...er..I saw the ship...and..."

The doctor seemed to think for a moment. "Well, he was restrained, which kept him from being thrown about too much. Debris shielded him from the full force of the explosion, and took the brunt of the fall. He was most likely unconscious for most of it, and the relaxed state of his body helped avoid a lot of soft tissue damage he might have had otherwise. The cold kept him from bleeding to death before they got him here... _This is all complete bullshit by the way_. Sounds very convincing though doesn't it."

Vincent blinked a owlishly, opening his mouth to speak then closing it again a few times. He turned to look at Sophia who was still focused solely on Alex. Seeing no help there he turned back the doctor, still unsure how to respond.

Actias snorted. "To be honest I haven't got a damn clue how he survived. When they brought him in I was surprised he'd lived long enough to get here. He went through nine hours of surgery last night, including having several internal organs replaced, and having his hearing restored. We've done a lot of that surgery, damned explosions..."

Actias was cut off by the arrival of three men who Vincent recognized as Silvana mechanics trying to get through the door at the same time, and as a result became stuck. This soon turned into three grown men _trying get into a fist fight_ while stuck in the door. Vincent could hear several other Silvana crew members behind them along with the now very confused guards. In the end Alvis was the first one in the room when she managed, somehow to crawl in safely between the legs of the mechanics, who were still trying to shift them selves to get unstuck without falling, though they were being far more quiet now after being harshly scolded by a passing nurse.

Sophia who had been shaken out of what ever world she had been in by the arrival of the mechanics, had a look on her face that Vincent recalled seeing on his mother more times than he would like to admit. He was reminded of a conversation he'd had with Alex about two years after they had both been given their commands.

 __

 _"Isn't it great! We both have our own ships, We're really making our way in the world."_

 _Alex had just glared at Vincent's poor attempt to cheer him up. Still overwhelmed by grief, too little sleep, and lack of apatite. "Marius has me babysitting a volatile pack of half-crazed, man-children no one else will hire. If they weren't on the Silvana most of them would probably be in prison."_

It looked as if Sophia sometimes shared that sentiment. The mechanics, pushed from the outside fell to the ground with a heavy thud, and turned to glare at Ethan who grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Alvis now at Sophia's side was looking over Alex with a frown on her face, while the other crew members entered stepping over the fallen mechanics. "He looks even worse than when Clause was all beat up." Alvis said softly looking at Sophia while hugging her goat toy to her face.

Sophia smiled at the girl. "The bruises will go away eventually, and he'll look more like himself."

Alvis was about to say something else when Sirens went off causing everyone to jump. The guards looked at Actias waiting for his nod of consent before heading off in the direction of the noise. Apparently another faction of guilders still loyal to Delphine had made a move somewhere in the city. It was another problem that had plagued recuperation efforts.

Dr. Actias snorted again. "Damned idiots, the woman treated us all like insects and they still throw their lives away for her."

Sophia looked at him the unspoken question written all over her face.

"Dead." Was the reply. "Very dead. I can show you the body later if you like. We're keeping her under constant guard in the morgue to make sure there aren't any incidents." There was a sigh of relief from everyone, as the tension they hadn't realized had built up was released.

While the young vanship pilots joined Alvis and Sophia around the bed, older crew members after confirming their Captain was indeed alive, if not well, reluctantly returned to what ever they had been assigned to do. Two mechanics Godwin, and Kostavi if he remembered their names right, stayed taking up the now vacant guard post at the door. He felt a bit useless, like he should be doing more. Watching Sophia talk to the children quietly, he noticed she didn't seem to be able to hide how exhausted she was anymore. The kids had noticed too, and were concerned.

Thinking for a moment he turned to Dr. Actias speaking quietly "Would it be possible to bring another bed in here for Sophia? She hasn't slept, and if it's possible I think she would rather stay here."

Actias nodded, giving Vincent a rather knowing look "I'll see to it. You look like you could use some rest yourself."

He was about to reply when a startled noise from Sophia drew him back the conversation with the pilots, and Alvis. Clause had handed Sophia what looked like an old messenger tube. "You mean..."

The boy nodded at the empress, Lavie at his side wiping her eyes. "We found both of them, still in their vanship on Exile."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some OCs in this: Actias and his family are all named for the Saturniidae family of moths.
> 
> The Actias family is one of the lesser families of the guild, Not nearly high enough that any would ever be considered for Maestro, but before Delphine's coup they held some power as council members.
> 
> Iakona Actias: Age fifty seven, is a chain smoking father of three. Married to Andrea Actias nee: Attacus a retired guards woman who now trains students in the guilds martial arts along with their son Atlas. (named after the Attacus Atlas moth.) Father and son don't see one another very often which is probably for the best as they don't get along very well. About the only thing they've ever had in common was a hatred for Delphine. Anyone entering his office will first notice two things: the smell of cigarette smoke, and several pamphlets, booklets, and informative papers on the dangers of smoking. These are left by his daughters in their efforts to get him to quit. He mostly uses them as impromptu ashtrays. His first name is a form of Jason and means healer.  
> The guild tradition he speaks of is made up by me, and as far as I know has no basis in the actual series.
> 
> Isis Actias: Age seventeen, She is a doctor in training. She is skilled enough to follow in her mothers footsteps but chose, out of a distaste for violence to follow her father. She spends most of her free time keeping Luna out of trouble. She is named after the Actias Isis moth.
> 
> Luna Actias: age thirteen but she's small for her age. A doctor in training like her sister Isis. When she's not training under her fathers supervision she's a typical energetic child usually getting into a bit of mischief. Unlike her sister and brother she has no aptitude for fighting. She has several collections of small odds and ends mostly of objets from Anatoray and Disith, as she does not get to go to either country very often, and both fascinate her. Her big fixation at the moment is buttons, and she was a bit put out to see that the Silvana uniforms had zippers instead. Several other people however are going to wonder what happened to their uniforms when they are well enough to be discharged. She is of course named after the Luna moth, Actias Luna.


	2. Lie

Alex had been awake for short periods of time off and on for the past few days, but today was the first he had been coherent enough to understand what was going on around him. At the moment Alex lay quietly in the hospital bed listening as Dr. Actias informed him of the long list of injuries, surgical procedures, and various other medical problems he had survived. Followed by a list of what treatments, and medicines he might, and would definitely need in the future. A surgery to restore his hearing, they had replaced several of his internal organs with... _his own organs_ that they had somehow grown somewhere?... he wasn't sure he would ever understand that part. He would walk again, eventually. It would take years of physical therapy, and he already knew with out being told would be painful as hell. The doctor seemed most concerned about his right arm however, which had apparently taken the most damage. He nodded once in a while to let the doctor know he was listening, and understood, everything except the "cloning" part. Mostly however he paid attention to Sophia, who was taking every word from the doctor like a blow to the stomach.

"This is very important Captain, we nearly had to amputate that arm during surgery. You're still at risks of losing it, even if that doesn't happen I'm not sure you'll ever regain full use of it. We have scanners in the cast to keep watch over it, but if you notice any significant increase in the pain, unusual heat, or swelling please let someone know immediately."

Alex just nodded again not trusting himself to speak yet. He shouldn't feel this tired after sleeping so much should he?

Dr. Actias went to check on other patients leaving him with Sophia, and Vincent who turned to him looking like they had a million questions, but didn't know which to start with.

It was Vincent who finally settled on "What happened up there?"

Alex stared at the ceiling for a few moments before closing his eyes. He heard Vincent try to say something more only to be shushed by Sophia, who had placed her hand over his.

 _The feeling of the thorns tearing into his skin, draining away his blood to replace it with Delphine's poison. The feeling of the Maestro struggling as he crushed her throat. She'd never raised her hands to free herself. He wondered why, she would have if she had tried. The sound of the ship exploding around him. Euris...To the sky..Pain, terrible pain...._

 _Sophia, looking so pained, so **guilty** , as the doctor spoke to him._

Alex opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Sophia. His voice was raspy and barely audible as he spoke. "I can't remember."

  


* * *

  
" I haven't been to see Dio yet. Physically, he's alright. His mind though...He didn't take it well when they told him about Lucciola. Claus, and Lavie say he's doing much better than he was, though now it seems he acts as if Lucciola is still right there with him. The doctors are worried about that. "

Alex had spent the past few days getting caught up on what he had missed while he had been unconscious. Sophia spoke with her back turned to him as she sorted through stacks of papers covering the extra bed that had been placed in the room for her use. Even though he was awake now and recovering she'd still spent the past few nights in the room with him. He knew why. He had even caught a glimpse of his medical files where "Possible Suicide Risk" had been written in large, bold letters. He was rarely left alone for more than a few moments. He wouldn't attempt anything however. Still too cowardly, he thought to end his own existence even when he no longer had a purpose.

Sophia's grumbling brought him back to the present. "...It figures...The one document I need for the next meeting and Vincent probably has it.." She sighed and walked over to chair beside his bed dropping down on to the cushion rather harder than she needed to, her long billowing skirts spreading over the tiled floor as she leaned over to rest her head over her arms on the pillow beside him.

"Your dress will get wrinkled sitting like that."

She hummed a bit in reply before lifting her head and giving a small sad smile. She reached down and squeezed his hand slightly. Normally he would never have allowed such physical contact. "Tomorrow."

Feeling like a weight had been dropped into his stomach he curled his fingers around her own and squeezed back. Actias had decided that he was well enough to leave his hospital room for a while. Tomorrow would be the first time, tomorrow Sophia, and Vincent were taking him to Exile. To Hamilcar, and George. When Sophia had told him about the discovery aboard Exile he hadn't been able to respond. He's just lain there staring at the ceiling letting her words repeat over, and over in his head.

"Will you be alright?"

He shook his head slowly, not letting go of her hand. "I don't know. I have to do this Sophia, I have to see them before.."

"I know, I know." Sophia smiled softly again. Inside, her heart was soaring with joy for his acceptance of the comfort she offered. _"And I'll be with you."_ she thought making a promise to Euris, to Marius, to herself. _"For as long as you need me. I will be with you."_

  


* * *

  
Vincent flipped through the documents he was he was holding his back turned to the mostly empty council room. _" I was supposed to give this to Sophia wasn't I?..."_ He thought to him self considering having his XO, Rumerto Durazzano run them down to Alex's room. With the Urbanis destroyed some of the surviving crew members were at a loss. While many had joined other crews temporarily Rumerto, Rum to his friends, had settled for being an errand boy of sorts for Vincent.

He could hear Duke Mad-Thane, and Nestor Messina talking quietly. When Nestor asked where Sophia was at the moment, still distracted by his ‘document dilemma’ he answered with out thinking. "She's using Alex as a meat shield to hide from those obnoxious geezers who think they can bully her into doing what they want." Promptly gagging on his own words when he realized what he had said. "I mean...She's ..er...discussing... things with the captain, as she values his opinion...and..um.."

"It's just the four of us sir." Rumerto said his expression not changing a bit as he watched his captain sag in relief. Vincent turned flushed with embarrassment to face David and Nestor, the former giving him a slight frown of disapproval, while the later chuckled. "He is awfully protective of Her Majesty for someone who nearly dropped the Maestro's flag ship on our heads. I've heard the imperial advisers won't even go into the hospital sector anymore. "

Vincent sighed. "Alex has never dealt with authority figures well. He really hates the royal council. When the emperor started deteriorating they pretty much completely abandoned Prime Minister Marius to deal with it himself....Still Saying all that was a bit uncalled for.."

Never dealt with authority figures well was also a massive understatement. Vincent recalled how at age fifteen during a practical exam on flight maneuvers Alex had gotten angry with Flight Instructor Jeremiah Dalton one of the most feared, and hated instructors at the academy. If he remembered right the words had been along the lines of "Piss off! I know what I'm doing." The only thing that had saved him from expulsion was that he had turned out to be right about the maneuver he was trying to pull off. People with skills, and intelligence like Alex were hard to come by, and in times of war far too valuable to let go for any reason. He had however made his first "enemy" in Instructor Dalton. He earned the hatred of several of the nobles children as well, who could never be sure they weren't only getting by through bribes from their parents, while an orphan, originally taken in by a noble family as a servant was making them all look like idiots.

Though it had also earned him the admiration of just as many. Including the Prime Minster's daughter an outcast herself because of her half-guild heritage, despite her ties to the royal line.

The sound of Nestor's voice broke him from his thoughts. "What? Sorry, I was thinking."

"I asked you how the Captain was doing." Nestor repeated calmly. "I wish I had the time to meet him."

Vincent snorted before he could stop himself. He was far more relaxed knowing the other council members were gone. "You're only saying that because you haven't met him yet. He's doing really well. Dr. Actias is still very worried about his arm. I think the worst thing for him is not being able to do anything. He looked like he wanted to murder Mullin Shetland when he came to visit after being discharged."

Vincent paused to look at his pocket watch. "Damn. I have to get these documents to Her Majesty before the next meeting. If you'll excuse me." Vincent quick half-hearted salute before rushing out the door followed by Rumerto.

"I wish I still had that much energy." Nestor commented watching the admiral leave.  
David nodded slightly. "It will be good to see that energy channeled to something besides war."

When Vincent walked into Alex's room, alone having sent Rum on another errand, Sophia, and Alex quickly pulled their hands away from one another, but not fast enough. Vincent said nothing but couldn't stop grinning as Sophia walked over looking flustered, and annoyed. He handed her the documents which she took and, tapped him lightly on the head with. "Thank you. Now I only have two hours to go over these before the next "argument" starts."

Sophia sat on the edge of her bed reading the papers while Vincent took over the chair next to Alex. "How are you feeling?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "The same way I felt the last time you asked, only slightly more annoyed that you've asked me again."

For the next two hours they sat the quiet only broken by small conversations, and a short lunch before Sophia, and Vincent had to leave again. Alex was asleep when they left.

"Sorry if I ..er interrupted anything back there."

Sophia sighed, turning away from him. He could have sworn she started blushing.  
"It was nothing, Admiral Alzey." Sophia stated in a voice laden with feigned offense. Her expression softened, and she smiled sadly when she turned to look at him. "We were talking about tomorrow."

Vincent nodded deciding not to broach the subject any further. Though later he was sure "nothing" is what got Sophia through the meeting without wanting to pull her hair out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex's back story is of course completely made up, and no we aren't going to find out what he said to chase Sophia's "counselors" out of the hospital. Mostly because I don't think I can come up with anything as entertaining as you readers could.
> 
>  
> 
> Rumerto Durazzano is the First officer of the Urbanis, and not an OC. Coming up with a name for him was one of the main issues I had with this chapter. Looking at the LE art books, I noticed that it looked like nearly everyone had a name, even characters who only had one line if they were given any at all. I'd much rather use canon names for characters than make something up. So not being able to read Japanese I asked the people at the Last Exile live journal community for help. They were very kind, and helped me by translating the Katakana to English, though what we ended up with was this: ruumoruto dofurusutorando. None of us had any idea how ro Romanize it. So I went name searching, and after a while Rumerto (which I think is Spanish I'm not sure.) Was the closest I could find. Durazzano isn't really close to dofurusutorando at all, but I couldn't find anything close to it so I decided to take my cues from other characters, and picked the name of an Italian city.
> 
> Originally I wanted to bring Dio into this chapter, but it seemed so out of place. He will be in the next one along with other characters we haven't seen much of yet.


	3. Reunion

Clause, Lavie, Alvis, Tatiana, and Alister talked quietly as they made their way to the hospital sector. The Silvana would be heading out in a few days to assist in the loading and protection of Exile and they would be leaving with it as couriers and fighters. They had decided to take the day and visit with Sophia and Alex for a while. They had agreed it felt strange to leave the two of them in the guild city, But Sophia had her duties as Empress, and Alex hadn't recovered enough to return. No one was sure if he would.

Mostly however they planed to spend the day with Dio, who was also being kept in the hospital. Even Tatiana agreed Dio was the most difficult to leave behind, especially as they had made a point to visit him when ever possible. The episodes with "Scary Dio" as Al had dubbed the moments when he reverted back the mind scrambled state Delphine had caused had greatly lessened since he had first been found. He had gone in a manner of days from not being able to speak of Lucciola, who's loss had been another harsh blow for the Silvana's crew to speaking to Lucciola as if he was still there. When pressed about Dio would just sigh and smile, or sometimes role his eyes. "Of course I know he's dead, That doesn't mean he's stopped listening."

They had decided it was just Dio's way of coping with the loss, The doctors were far more concerned. As it was, he was hardly ever with out supervision of some sort. Especially with the "Blood Rose Army" the terrorist loyalist to Delphine. Even though most had been driven into hiding in the wastelands of Disith, protecting Dio from them was a top priority of the guild. This is why it took them several moments to realize Dio had just passed them, heading down the hall in the opposite direction.

"D..Dio what are you doing out here!" Claus sputtered when they caught up with the boy.

Dio smiled widely. "I was talking to Lucciola about him being dead, and I remembered the Delphine is dead too. So I realized I can do something _I always wanted to do_! I can go through all my sisters stuff and not get into any trouble at all! Isn't that great! You can come too, it will be fun!" Dio was beaming at them when he finished.

Tatiana's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Their letting you do this on your own? With out guards or anything?"

Dio grinned at her shaking his head. "Don't be silly of course not! Actually, if they keep to the schedule they've been using they won't even know I'm gone for another ten minutes. We'd better hurry! " Dio turned and ran down the hall.

With little more than a glace of confirmation the children split up, Claus, Lavie, and Alvis following Dio while Tatiana, and Alister ran to the hospital section as quickly as their feet would take them.

* * *

 

In Delphine's elaborate chambers, while waiting for the others to arrive curiosity had gotten the better of Lavie, and she stepped into what had to be the biggest walk-in closet she had ever seen. It took up more space than the hanger of the Silvana. Her mouth gaping at the amount of clothes Delphine had owned. Behind her Claus stood at the door of the deceased Maestro's room watching for Tatiana, and Alister, or a doctor. Dio was tearing through one of the many intricately decorated jewelry boxes with Alvis. The girl gasped in delight as he pulled out a delicate looking silver necklace with diamonds and sapphires in it.

"Did your sister actually wear ALL of this stuff?" Lavie asked pulling out a midnight blue silk dress in the stile an Anatoray noble woman would wear.

Dio frowned a bit thinking for a moment. "I don't think so. For Delphine the point was really to just have what no one else could, even if it never got used. Some of it she might have worn once. Most of she never wore at all."

 _"What an awful person."_ Lavie thought putting the dress back and walking over to join Dio and Alvis. "What are you going to do with all this stuff?" She asked picking up a small jewel encrusted tiara she though looked rather silly.

"Those." Dio said glaring at a case of large gold and silver rings of various designs. "Are going to be destroyed. As for the rest of it...well Sister would never want anyone else to have any of it so I'm going to give it all way! It's all really expensive, so even if people don't want to keep it they can sell it and get lots of money for their families or something."

Lavie smiled, despite what had happened he was still definitely their Dio. She looked over at Claus. "Is anyone coming? It sure is taking a long time."

"I don't see anyone. Tatiana, and Alis may have stopped to see Alex, and Miss Sophia, but a Doctor or guard should have been here by now."

Dio jumped up, and practically danced over to the door throwing his arms around Claus making the boy jump. "But Immelman, the Captain, and Her Majesty aren't there. They stopped to visit me this morning before they left and said they were going to Exile today. The Captain was very quiet. He looks really awful with all those bruises doesn't he?"

Claus and Lavie looked at each other suddenly feeling embarrassed. Claus attempted to escape Dio while Lavie ran her hand through her hair. "I forgot they were going to do that today..."

Any further thoughts on the subject were forgotten when Isis appeared looking irritated and flustered followed by an elder guardswoman and a young guardsman. Tatiana and Alis followed close behind and gaped at the luxurious rooms just as Lavie had when they first arrived. Dio squeaked when he saw the woman and tried to hid behind Claus to no avail. "Lord Dio! I'm very disappointed in you. Not only have you caused considerable panic, but should something have happened your friends would be in danger as well."

When they looked at Dio his head was down and he was scuffing his feet along the carpet. "Yes Agoge Actias, I'm sorry Agoge Actias."

Tatiana, and Alis joined a now somewhat confused Claus, and Lavie. "Sorry it took so long." Alis whispered. "Dr. Actias sent Isis to get his wife before we came down here. She's the one who trained Dio and Lucciola to fight. The man is her son Atlas."

For the next few moments they tried to distract themselves from Dio getting scolded. "The next time you decide to go wandering about you will inform someone."

"Yes Agoge Actias....Do I have to go back now?"

The woman sighed pinching the bridge of her nose. "Of course not they wouldn't have sent for us if you were just going to be dragged back to the hospital. Carry on with what ever you were doing."

Dio immediately brightened and went back to the jewelry boxes.

"Um..Miss Actias? What does 'Agoge' mean?" Claus asked looking at Isis in confusion.

"An Agoge is a trainer of the guild fighting arts. Mother is currently one of the head Agoge of the school. Atlas is training to take her place when she retires."

Mrs. Actias walked over to them and smiled. "My name is Andrea. Thank you for looking after Dio, I'm afraid with everything that has happened I haven't had enough time for my own children let alone a former student." Andrea turned to her daughter. "We'll be standing guard outside the door. Let us know if you need anything."

Isis nodded, and Andrea turned and left, the door closing behind her. Dio had already dragged the rest of the girls into going through things with him. Tatiana made a face as she lifted a particularly gaudy necklace out of another jewelry box. Alis and Lavie were in the closet again.

When Dio handed him a box so heavy he nearly dropped it with a cheery "Here, Immelman go through this one!" Claus sighed, and set the box down to start on the task. _"So much for a relaxing visit.”_   He thought, but he smiled. It seemed Dio would be ok after all.

* * *

The chair worried him a bit, you couldn't call it a wheel chair. There were no wheels, it just hovered about a foot and a half above the ground. There was a panel of controls Luna had showed him how to use before they left. Alex had decided to leave it alone, and just let Sophia push the almost weightless contraption wherever she wanted. He was still waiting for something to go wrong.

Sophia had decided to show Alex around the city while they waited for Vincent, and the ship that would take them to Exile. They had paid a visit to Dio at breakfast. They were both certain the boy was already up to something, but the morning had passed without incident. Once out of the hospital everything had been a maze of rooms and halls he's paid little attention to. He'd finally met Nestor, he could see why Sophia held so much respect for the man. The Disith commander already seemed more of a father to her than her own had ever been.

At the moment he was on board the Silvana, waiting for Sophia to get back from retrieving something from her room, and watching Mullin's unintentional revenge on the mechanics. He had asked them to watch the younger siblings of the Disith girl he had met. The moment Mullin and his Disith girl ‘Dunny or something, he'd have to ask Sophia what the girl's name was again.’ had gone out of ear shot chaos had broken out. Now the men were panicking trying to get control of the situation.

"What in the world is going on here?" Sophia asked watching the children run amuck, followed by grown men who should know better.

"They're babysitting." Alex answered, enjoying the unexpected entertainment.

"And, your just going to let this continue?" Sophia raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"Yes."

Sophia sighed, but had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

When Vincent finally made his appearance a few moments later he was nearly run over by Dunya's little brother. "Whoa! Careful you about took my knees out. What's going on?" He asked when trying not to laugh himself when he got to Alex, and Sophia.

"Mullin asked the mechanics to watch his girlfriend's little brother and sister. I think they regret saying yes now."

Hearing Alex's answer Vincent looked at Sophia who just shrugged. "Is the ship ready yet?"

Vincent nodded. "We can go any time you're ready. I'm glad they're distracted, I hate coming aboard here. I feel like everyone wants to beat me up."

"That's because they do."

Vincent glared at Alex. "Thank you, for confirming my paranoia...”

* * *

 

Alex looked at the old vanship feeling like he was going to be sick. "They’re both still inside?" He asked his voice barely more than a whisper.

Sophia nodded."With everything that has been going on coffins for them haven't been a high priority."

The ship had been taken from the wall it had been embedded in and placed in a storage room, securely strapped to the floor. Vincent had set a step ladder against the side and was at the top looking in. He climbed down and walked over to Alex, and Sophia. "Are you ready to see them, Alex?" he asked.

Alex looked confusedly at him before looking at Sophia. "How exactly am I supposed to..." He was interrupted, confusion turning to shock and embarrassment when Vincent picked him up out of the chair. "No, Alzey put me down right now!"

"Vincent! You could have at least warned him first!" Vincent rolled his eyes grinning, though Sophia was glaring at him, and Alex was managing to look both horribly embarrassed, and murderous at the same time. "How else are you supposed to get up there? I promise I won't drop you, cross my heart.... You need to eat more, I swear the heaviest thing about you is the cast on your arm." His companions continued to glare at him.

"Fine." Alex practically growled at him. "Lets get this over with, and if you drop me I'm going have you shot out of a cannon."

Vincent grinned wider, about to comment of the red tint to Alex's face when Sophia reached over and pinched him hard. "Ow!..Alright, alright." He walked over to the ship and climbed up slowly, being careful of the extra weight he now carried. Alex was still as possible face still slightly flushed, and anger still very apparent.

When they had gone high enough that Alex could see inside he turned his head to look. His anger immediately forgotten, the color drained from his face. Strapped into their seats, mummified during the years spent inside the climate controlled star ship, and still very recognizable were Hamilcar Valca, and George Head. Alex stared for only a few moments before he turned his head unable to look anymore.

"You want down now?" Vincent asked softly. Alex nodded unable, or unwilling to speak. He was shaking more than he had in the short time they had spent out in Disith's frigid climate.  When he reached the bottom he was startled as Alex suddenly shifted his weight, and before Vincent could stop him tried to stand. "Alex wait! Don't!"

As the captain's legs immediately gave out on him Sophia rushed forward catching him, knocking them both to the floor. With a string of curses that would have surprised most people who knew the man Vincent was on his knees beside them checking to see if they were alright.

Alex propped himself up on his good arm and looked at Sophia, his eyes desperate. "What happened to the message tube?"

Sophia and Vincent both blinked, before the Empress smiled sadly in understanding. "It was still there, Claus and Lavie have it now."

Alex pushed himself up into a sitting position hissing in pain as he did so. He kept his face toward the floor for a few moments thinking before he turned to look at the vanship again. He stared at it and mumbled something to himself. Vincent was getting more worried this time as Alex still hadn't told them if he had been hurt in the fall. "What? Alex are you.."

"They made it.. They made it across." Alex turned looking at them again for the first time in years somewhere between laughing and crying. When the tears began to fall Sophia pulled him into her arms, holding him as the sobs shook him. Vincent not knowing what else to do sat beside them placing a hesitant hand on his friend’s back, as he was finally able cry for the first time in ten years. For the two who had been found, for the one who never would be, and perhaps for the one they had left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to Wikipedia, Agoge is actually the term the Spartans used for the training of young boys and men, I couldn't find a term for trainer/teachers. I suppose you could consider this a fictional example of how words change meaning over time.
> 
> Everything that happened in this chapter was originally supposed to happen in the last one. This was supposed to be only four chapters long '-_-... This chapter had a different ending too. I really liked how this turned out though.
> 
> The part with Alex and the vanship is an idea I've had since re-watching the series in 2009, and was one of my main motivations for writing this story.


	4. Set Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the things mentioned in this chapter are things I kind of remember from searching for Last Exile info on the net. Most of it is crap I made up for the story.

In the end, none of them knew how long they stayed there. The sky was beginning to darken when Alex finally managed to calm himself. Vincent was about to suggest finding a ship to take them back to the city when Claus, Lavie, and Alvis walked in. The teens stopped dead in their tracks and seemed to consider just turning and leaving without a word. Alvis on the other hand ran forward to where they sat, a look of distress on her face. "Did Alex get hurt?"

Sophia smiled and shook her head. "No." She answered quietly. "He's just sad."

The girl pouted and hugged her goat for a moment. Then held it out toward the captain. "Here."

Alex turned his head from where it rested Sophia's shoulder. His eyes were red and a bit swollen, which along with the remaining bruises did nothing for his appearance. He shook his head and buried his face back in Sophia's shoulder.  
 _  
"Poor Alex."_ Vincent thought. _"He must be so embarrassed right now..."_

Lavie walked forward and put a hand on Alvis' shoulder. "Al, why don't we give them so..." Before Lavie could finish Alvis set the goat on the floor and threw her arms around Alex in the biggest hug the girl could manage. Vincent had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the look on Claus and Lavie's faces.

Alex did nothing to acknowledge that anything had happened, but Vincent noticed he looked to be holding him self a bit more stiffly than before. The Admiral looked at his Empress, nodding his head toward the shocked teens. Sophia nodded back and Vincent stood up walking over to Claus, and Lavie smiling. "Come on lets go find a ship back to the city."

"B..But..Al."

Vincent grabbed both their coveralls by the shoulder and dragged them out of the room. Once outside with the door closed, he let the protesting children go. "I think it would be a good idea not to mention this to anyone else."

* * *

 A few moments after Vincent left with Claus and Lavie Alex sat up causing Alvis to move. He wiped eyes with the palm of his hand being very careful to not look at the two girls who had stayed. He sighed, but had to clear his throat before he was able to speak. "I'm fine....Vince is never going let me hear the end of this is he?....What are Clause and Lavie going to do with Hamilcar and George?"

Sophia smiled at Alvis who had picked up her goat and moved to sit beside the woman. The girl yawned, and leaned against Sophia, she gently placed her hand on the girl's head. "There going to take them to the planet, and bury them there."

Alex stared at the vanship for a while. When he finally turned back to Sophia, the guilt on his face was so clear she felt her heart breaking. "There's nothing for Euris."

He was right. There was nothing. Her father had never allowed Euris to be declared dead. It was his punishment to Marius, and Alex for the failure of a plan he had never agreed with. No grave, not even a memorial. She had never even learned what had happened to Euris' possessions, a few days after Alex had reported the failure of the peace mission she'd wandered into what had been Euris' bed chambers at the palace, only to find them empty. Like Euris had never existed at all. Her father was gone now though, she could change that. She could finally lay her long dead cousin to rest. She looked and smiled sadly fighting tears of her own. "There can be. We'll make something."

After what had to be only a few moments, but seemed like ages to Sophia. Alex nodded. He said nothing but seemed more relaxed now than he had all day. "Alvis fell asleep."

Sophia blinked at the sudden change of subject, and looked to her side at the girl about to fall on her. She carefully lifted the child onto her lap. "It is getting late, I wonder what's taking them so long...We should have had you back at the hospital hours ago."

Alex grunted obviously unhappy at the thought of being confined to his hospital bed again. He stared at the vanship, looking half asleep himself. "Sophia." He didn't turn to look at her.

"Yes?"

He was silent for a while. When he did speak it was barely more than a whisper, but still seemed too loud in the mostly empty room "...In my quarters, there is a case on the floor in the closet. It has all the letters from Marius, Hamilcar, and George, before the Grand Stream when the Silvana was still under construction. Claus should have them, he wanted to know about his father. He should know everything.... Euris' ring is in there too, and mine...You can have them if you want. I know your father never let you have anything to remember her by."

Sophia felt like her breath had been knocked out of her. She unconsciously held Alvis a little tighter at the sudden memory.

 _It hadn't been very expensive, fake silver, a tiny diamond chip surrounded by even smaller crystals of unknown quality. The only thing the unofficially adopted son of a fallen noble working as a courier could afford. Even then it had taken him months to earn the money. He had promised her something better down the road, but to Euris it had been priceless. Her most prized possession because of what it meant, but mostly because it was from him. Which was why the day they left she pulled her little cousin to the side as the men discussed the mission. She would be going not only as Alex's navi but also as an imperial ambassador. She slipped the ring off her finger and placed it in its small velvet box, and put the box in Sophia's hands. "I know it's silly, but I'm so worried something will happen to it. Will you look after my ring until I get back?"_

 _Sophia nodded, promising to look after it. When Sophia told Alex he had laughed, and hugged her. Telling her, he was going to miss her, and promising to tell her all about Disith when they got back. Sophia had kept her promise, constantly checking the contents of the small velvet box on her dresser. When she woke in the morning, before going to bed at night, after meals and between lessons, for two days she kept watch over the ring._

 _...And then, Alex came back. Far too early, and alone. There was not a word spoken between them when she tearfully handed him the box. He hadn't asked for it, probably hadn't even thought about it. He took it all the same, placing it in his pocket without so much as a glance, and walked back to his ship, preparing to tell Justina that her husband, and Lavie's father would never return._

Sophia didn't see Alex again until she was sent to the Silvana as a spy. "Alex... _Euris' ring_..Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I haven't even looked at them Sophia, not since that day. They've been sitting in a box at the bottom of my closet for eight years. I...." He sighed, unable to finish whatever he was going to say. For a while they sat in silence. Even through the hull of Exile they could hear the Disith winds picking up as night drew closer.

Finally Alex grabbed his chair. Sophia asked if he needed help but he gave her a short annoyed glare, and reminded her she had Alvis in her lap. He managed with a string of quietly grumbled curses, and hisses of pain to pull himself onto it. Afterward he sat as still as possible for a few moments catching his breath.

Sophia stood carefully trying not to jostle Alvis, though the girl was proving to be quite the heavy sleeper. Alex looked at them both and sighed again. "Hand her over, lets go find out what's taking that idiot so long."

Sophia smiled as she carefully placed Alvis on Alex's lap, the girl remained undisturbed by the movement.

After leaving the storage room they eventually found Vincent, and Lavie at Claus and Lavie's vanship

"Where is Claus?" Sophia asked pushing the chair toward them.

"We ran into some other pilots from Norkia. He's still talking to them." Lavie answered not looking up, she was looking for something around Claus' seat. Vincent however was grinning at the site of Alvis asleep on Alex's lap. "Do you have any idea how much I wish I had a camera right now?"

Alex glared at him. "About as much as I wish I had a gun right now?" He growled in response.

Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by Lavie's triumphant cry of "Here it is!" as she pulled out, of all things Alex's cape. She stopped and blinked finally seeing where Alvis was. She handed the cape to an astonished Sophia. "Er...Do you want me to take her?" She asked climbing down off the ship.

"Where did you find this?" Sophia asked watching Lavie take Alvis, moving away from Alex a bit more quickly than was necessary.

"Dio volunteered us to help sort out his sister's things. We were there nearly all day. Alis found it in the closet. When we got Dio back to the hospital the doctor told us you weren't back yet so we looked for you at the Silvana, other than you not being there either we couldn't get much out of anyone because Dunya was yelling at the mechanics. Something about her little brother. So we got in our vanship and came to see if you were still here...eh..The doctor is kind of mad at you for staying out so long..."

Sophia sighed, and Alex snorted. Not getting any more of a response than that Lavie continued. "He's decided to give all her stuff away, Dio I mean. He wanted to know if you want anything." Surprisingly Alex only shook his head. She had imagined he would ask for something along the lines of using a "certain someone's" corpse as a dart board.

He sat quietly staring at the returned cape now folded on his lap. "You didn't find my boots did you?"

Lavie blinked. "They took your boots? Why?"

"Because I managed kick Cricket, or whatever the hell his name was in the head while they were turning me into a garden ornament."

She couldn't think of anything to say in response to that. Luckily for her Claus returned and informed them that the airship they had found heading back to the guild city was ready to go. "The captain said we can load our vanship with the others on board. I don't want to take Al all the way back to the city out in this cold....Did Al fall asleep?"

"I'll take her." Vincent offered reaching for the girl. "We'll wait for you on board. She sleeps like a rock doesn't she?" Vincent, Alex, Sophia, and a still sound asleep Alvis boarded the ship, a Disith vessel called The Vasilisa. They found place to wait in the mess hall, and were mostly ignored by the other passengers, and crew. It didn't take Alex himself long to fall asleep, and Vincent and Sophia were glad he did as they both began to hear the "Whispered" conversation a table away between two Anatoray solders. The subject of the conversation happened to be Alex himself.

By the time Claus and Lavie arrived Vincent was quietly fuming, and Sophia was trying not to laugh at one boy's conviction that "He knew someone, _who knew someone_ who had _seen_ the captain walk away from the wreckage of the Maestro's ship." There was of course, no mention of hours of surgery, and a coma lasting several days.

"How can you laugh at that? Some of the things there saying...He is not a cannibal, demon or vampire." Vincent stayed seated but glared at the boys who moved away when they noticed him. He didn't notice Lavie blush slightly at the vampire comment.

"Vincent... They're just silly rumors. There isn't anything we can do about it. I'm just glad he's asleep he'd probably make it worse." Sophia smiled affectionately at her captain as she took the cape and spread it over him like a blanket. "I'll have to remember to tell him some of those later."

* * *

 

Alex moved another paper to the growing pile on his bed side table after making a few careful notes in the note pad at his side. He glared at the note pad and sighed, at least it was legible. He set the pencil he'd been using down, and moved onto the next paper when Sophia entered grumbling to herself. She slammed the documents she carried with her down on her bed hard enough to make a loud ‘whumph’ and cause a slight breeze in the room.

"No wonder Father went mad! They make me want to become a tyrant, So I can have them all executed." The Empress sat on her bed putting her head in her hands grumbling in frustration.

"Typical council meeting I take it?" Alex asked not looking up. Sophia frowned at him then brightened up a bit. "Would you like to be one of my advisers?" she asked smiling sweetly.

Alex did look at her this time raising an eyebrow as he motioned to the papers on his lap, Which happened to be from a previous meeting.

"I mean officially so I can make you suffer through the councils with me."

Alex smirked. "I'll think about it."

"I'm serious you know, it would be nice to have another person besides David, and Vincent who disagree with me because they see a flaw in my ideas, and not because _I'm a little girl who needs to stop playing pretend, and start listening to the grownup men who know better_." She couldn't keep the bitterness from creeping into her voice as she finished. She looked tired, and her stress was obvious.

"So am I." Alex replied leaning back on the bed ignoring the paperwork for now. "There is a lot to consider...I've..had a lot to think about in the past few days."

Sophia nodded quietly thinking of the two rings she now wore on a silver chain tucked under the collar of her dress. One far too large, the other ever so slightly too small. As far as she knew Claus and Lavie hadn't yet gone through the documents and letters she had given them in Alex's stead. She sighed, softly and decided to change to less somber subject. "Luna said you didn't finish breakfast, and Dr. Actias told me you hardly touched lunch."

Alex glared at her, but she glared right back. It surprised her when he was the first to look away. "Whatever breakfast was, it was disgusting, and lunch was some kind of fish. You know I hate fish." He knew she was unconvinced, he'd grown up eating whatever he was given without complaint, people in his station in life couldn't afford to be picky. Even after his "adoption" at age six he'd never gotten out of the habit.

He jumped a bit Sophia put a hand on his forehead. She frowned at him. "Alex.."

"I'm fine, it's probably all the damn medications they have me taking." Despite his protest Sophia went to fetch the doctor, and ended up staying with him the rest of the day out of worry.

It wasn't until the pain killers wore off and a terrible pain in his right arm, woke him in the night that he realized the situation was far worse than he had thought. His attempts to reach the call switch without agitating his arm woke Sophia. Becoming frantic on seeing his condition she pushed the switch several more times than she needed to.

Dr. Actias, his daughters and several nurses soon arrived, Actias still wearing what probably passed for pajamas in the guild. Actias immediately went to one of the machines and began pushing buttons, looking through the data on the screen. His eye widened in shock. "Dammit all to hell! Why didn't the scanners pick this up? Get him prepped for surgery! I want that cast off his arm NOW!"

Sophia felt as if her heart had stopped. "Didn't pick up what? What's wrong with his arm?"

"Your highness, I need you to stay calm. Isis stay with her. Do. Not. Let. Her. Follow!"

"Yes Father."

"Why? What is wrong with him? Doctor!" Isis stood in Sophia's way not letting her past as Alex was wheeled toward Surgery. "Wait!"

Luna took off down the hall in the opposite direction.

* * *

 Claus knew he should be sleeping. He wasn't even sure of the hour, but his mind would not let him rest as he sat in Sophia's quarters, she had allowed him, Lavie, and Alvis to use them, instead of having all the papers take up space in their own small sleeping quarters. He poured over the letters between his father and the Prime Minister, Lavie snoring quietly on the sofa beside him.

"My father was supposed to be captain of the Silvana?" He just couldn't imagine it, not the gentle, kind man he remembered. Not The Silvana with its bloody history, its black armor, its dark uniforms...There was no place for his father here. But there it was in his fathers own hand writing.

 _"I understand your concerns Marius, but I certainly won't leave Justina and the children behind. After all isn't this ship you're building for me supposed to be the safest place in the world?"_

 _"How different would things be if they had lived?"_ Claus wondered he was startled by a muffled sound coming from Alex's room. He wondered if Sophia was there, maybe she could answer some of the questions burning in his mind.

It turned out not to be Sophia. Vincent about a foot in the air when he came in. "Alex asked me to get something so don't you try any..Oh, Claus it you, you just about scared me half to death. Is something wrong?"

Claus handed him the letter. "Um...Did you know about this?"

Vincent looked the letter over. "You want to sit down?"

Claus took a seat on the sofa while Vincent sat in Alex's chair. "I was never directly involved in any of this, but yeah I knew your Father was supposed to be captain. We weren't much older than you at time, you know. After...everything there was no one else Marius trusted but Alex. I think he wanted to give Alex a purpose too, something to concentrate on other than the past. I know he regretted it in the end, not keeping Alex where he could be taken care of I mean."

He handed the letter back to Claus. He was about to say something else when the door flew open again. Dio, Luna, and Atlas were standing there all trying to catch their breath. Luna was the first to speak."The Captain,...His arm.."

The color drained from Vincent's face. "Oh god...Where is Sophia?" He asked standing.

"Isis is with her, but she's really upset." Dio answered. "We came to get you because she didn't want to leave the hospital."

Vincent and Claus followed them back to hospital running as fast as they could. When they arrived Sophia was pacing in the hall outside Alex's room trembling. The first thing Vincent did was pull her into a strong embrace, she started crying. "They won't tell me anything. They won't let me see him!"

Vincent hugged her tighter rubbing his hand up and down her back. Dio and Claus exchanged anxious looks. "Shhh, shhh, It will be all right. He's come this far he won't quit on us now."

A few moments later Isis walked out of the room followed by a nurse, they both looked very unhappy. She turned to her brother. "Atlas, search through all the security footage for this section of the hospital. Luna check over all the personnel records involving the captain's bio-scanners. Someone has tampered with that equipment, _and I want to know who_."

Everything afterward was a ballet of chaos. Security and hospital personnel everywhere, checking, asking questions. Several nurses, and other hospital workers were taken off duty to be questioned. Luna made Sophia some tea which turned out to have a mild tranquilizer in it, allowing the distressed woman to rest. It seemed like years had passed to Claus, Vincent, and Dio when Dr. Actias finally came in.

"He'll recover,...but there was too much damage, most of his hand was already lost to Necrosis, and gangrene. We had to amputate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even back in the planing stages Alex was always going to lose something off that arm. I debated with myself forever over how much he would lose. It was anywhere from a few fingers, to most of his arm. In the end I decided to go with what I'm personally most familiar with. My Father lost a hand in a farming accident, So I hope to be able to write from life, without having to ask dad any awkward questions. (Seriously how do you explain "it's for a fanfic.") I also get to play with Prosthesis of the FUTURE! eventually.
> 
> Originally I wasn't sure if he would regain his hearing either, or have hearing aides for the rest of his life. This lead to some funny scenes where Alex tormented Vincent by turning the hearing aides off and making him "Play Charades" to tell him something but it seemed to out of place/out of character in the end, so I scraped it.  
> The scene at the beginning was supposed to be the end of the last chapter. I like it better here.
> 
> I worry that Alex seems to be moving on too fast...He is on antidepressants now, I just can't find away to bring it up in the story. I'm not sure if he knows he's on them, but Sophia definitely does. And seeing Hamilcar and George was definitely something that affected him very deeply. I still worry he's moving on too fast.
> 
> The Vasilisa is named after Vasilisa, the beautiful, of Russian fairy tales.
> 
> Hamilcar being the original captain of the Silvana in the planing stages, and Euris being Sophia's cousin are the things I remember from the net. (I'm still always so surprised by how many people I run into on the net that still think Sophia, and Euris were sisters, or worse yet think Sophia, and Euris are the same person.) I think reading through again that the rest is made up. I'm not sure though I may have missed something.
> 
> The Valca's, specifically Claus' grandparents, are the nobles who "adopted" Alex, (He was really more like an indentured servant, which is why he still uses his own family name, until Hamilcar noticed how intelligent he was and convinced his parents to educate the boy.) I'm not sure I'll be able to fit that in the story now and it's bugging me.


	5. Resignation

Sophia sat, pale faced, with red-rimmed eyes by Alex's side as he slept. They had been moved to a more secure room deeper within the hospital, closer to Dio's. There were guards chosen by Andrea standing at the door. The Silvana had delayed its departure. The crew furious at the attack on their captain helping with the investigation in anyway they could.

The culprit had turned out to be an Anatoray nurse whose brother had been aboard the Goliath. They could never question her however on how she had learned so much of the guild equipment. She had been found murdered in the early hours of the morning, one of Delphine's ‘special’ roses growing out of the bloody wound in her chest.

Vincent handed her a cup of coffee, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, she considered asking if it was dosed. Eventually she decided against it and drank the now lukewarm drink anyway. She felt so ashamed, right when Alex had needed her be calm, and level headed she had lost control... She had panicked and been completely useless. Dr. Actias had told her it was understandable. She was being over worked, with too little support. It didn't make her feel any better.

Alex began to stir a bit, blinking sleepily. He looked at Sophia, and Vincent then turned his head to look at his arm. There was a new cast, still necessary as the fractures in his arm had not healed yet. It was lighter however allowing him to lift his arm more easily. This was, in part because his hand was gone up to the wrist. "Shit, this is going to be a problem."

Vincent and Sophia stared, it wasn't quite the reaction they had been expecting. Though he still sounded as if he had not quite woken up yet. Vincent placed a hand on Alex leg trying to be comforting. "It will be ok Alex. You have me and Sophia, we'll get through this together."

Alex snorted. "Easy for you to say, if I have hand writing as bad as yours for the rest of my life I will not be able to live with myself...My shirts are gonna look funny too."

Vincent glared at him. "What do you mean _hand writing as bad as mine?_ "

Alex turned his head and blinked at him, then looked at Sophia. "Did I say that out loud?" he asked muzzily.

Sophia nodded biting her lip not trusting her self to speak. Alex was rescued from Vincent's anger by the arrival of Dr. Actias. "I see you're finally awake, how are you feeling Captain?"

"I'm not feeling much of anything right now...Who changed the ceiling while I was asleep?"

The doctor seemed undisturbed by Alex's strange behavior. "No one, you've been moved to a different room."

"Oh..That makes a lot more sense."

"What's wrong with him?" Vincent asked still sounding annoyed.

"He's still under the anesthesia from surgery." Actias answered looking over the hospital machinery, before taking Alex's pulse. "He should be back to the glares, and sarcasm by this afternoon."

Vincent was about to reply when Alex with uncharacteristic cheer began telling Sophia about the time they had shaved the head of Vincent's younger sister Emma. The doctor looked at him raising an eyebrow, and smirking.

"I was seven, and we had to get rid of the glue” Vincent replied defensively “...I'm going to go get some coffee. Somewhere far, far away from here." _"At least Sophia is feeling better now.”_ He thought grumpily to himself as walked down the hall. Though he cringed at the thought of all the other things Alex could go into if he was really in the story telling mood.

* * *

 Duke Mad-Thane sighed and once again tried to regain order in the council room. Nestor, along with several of his own advisers were giving him sympathetic looks.

"You must understand gentlemen, that Her Majesty's health, and safety are of the up most importance at the moment. As we still have no clue on the exact origin of the attack on Captain Row, we have decided to take every precaution necessary. Do not forget that the loyalist to the former Maestro first, and foremost want revenge, and Her Majesty was the one in charge of the ship that fired the killing shot."

Several of the men calmed a bit though were still clearly agitated. They retook their seats some sending suspicious glances at the guild council members, who ignored them. An older, slender man with a rather pointed face, in an Anatoray uniform placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his laced fingers. "We understand the need very well, Duke Mad-Thane. What escapes me still, is why none of us were informed of the events until this morning. As imperial advisers we should have been informed immediately."

"The reason is Duke Aster, that Her Majesty did not wish for your involvement." David answered calmly. They didn't need to know that the ‘order’ had come indirectly from Admiral Alzey after Sophia had fallen asleep, and they really didn't need to know his exact words had been _"No! Hell no! This is already bad enough! If any of those old bastards show up, I will shoot them!"  
_  
Duke Aster sat back in his chair, He was the counselor Sophia had been having the most issues with. He never failed to argue even the slightest points of her plans and ideas. He was entirely against the evacuation to begin with, despite all the evidence provided he refused to believe that the weather controllers could not somehow be repaired. Most of his criticism of Sophia however came because of her age, and gender. He was unashamedly a firm believer in that the role of the Empress was to provide the Emperor with an heir, preferably a male heir, and nothing more. He took Sophia's decision to rule alone instead of marrying immediately as a personal insult. Most of the council followed him like sheep to the shepherd. "Considering Her Majesty's health, as concerned as we all are perhaps, she should step aside. The council is more than able to take care of these matters. At her age she should be concerned with other things, like marriage, there are many eligible young noble men who could be groomed as a proper ruler."

He about jumped out of his chair when Vincent suddenly appeared and grabbed the back of it. "You know, that sounds suspiciously like treason to me. Good morning." He said cheerfully, grinning widely as he crossed the room to his normal seat. "No one told me we were having a meeting today. The captain is awake by way....I'm not sure he knows he's awake, but he is in a very good mood about it."

"Admiral Alzey, Have you had any sleep?" A guild's woman he was sure had been introduced to him as Hesperia asked looking at him with concern.

"No, I do plan to get some though, I just wanted to let you all know how Captain Row was doing, and see if there was any more information on the attempted assassination." He didn't bother looking up when someone snorted at "attempted assassination."

"I'm afraid there has been no new information Vincent." David said placing a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you go get some rest?"

Vincent sighed rubbing his eyes with his forefinger, and thumb. "Right. If there is anything, I'll be on the Silvana. Durazzano should be around here somewhere, if there is anything I would appreciate it if you sent him."

"Of course."

Vincent left without a word, trying to stifle the growing headache, and contemplating all the ways he could kill Duke Aster, and make it look like an accident. Alex was better at that kind of thing really, maybe they could come up with some thing when he was clear headed again.

* * *

"I don't think Vince is coming back."

Sophia looked up from her work a bit startled. "I thought you were asleep. How are you feeling?"

Alex moved himself to a sitting position hissing a bit at the pain in his back. "I can think now. Did I really tell all those stories? Or is that just some horribly embarrassing nightmare I had?"

Sophia smiled. "Yes you did...You know, I knew about the cannon. Euris told me, but I'd never heard about the thing with the bees before."

When Alex actually laughed a bit, she couldn't keep herself from doing the same. "Euris wasn't there for the bees. She didn't find out about that till later. I think she found out from Hamilcar. He was called to the academy because of it."

He sat up all the way, and ran his remaining hand over the cast. Sophia put her hand over his arm, and smiled a bit again when he didn't pull away.

"How bad is the situation? I've picked up enough to know someone caused this intentionally."

Sophia gently squeezed his arm, more to comfort herself than anything. "No one is sure. Dio, and I can't leave here without at least ten guards with us, boredom is getting to the poor boy already. Dr. Actias has limited your care to a few specific people... The girl who tampered with the machines, Anthea Bennet was found dead. With a rose growing out of her chest. All anyone really knows that Blood Rose is behind it. The agents still inside seem far more clever than those that were chased off."

She looked at Alex fighting back tears now. "I feel so useless. Like nothing I do matters. Is that you feel siting here day after day? I can't stand it." She blinked in surprise when Alex placed his hand over hers.

"We need to talk."

* * *

 

The next morning Sophia was once again attending the council this time with an entourage of guards. It was Vincent who had skipped the meeting. He was currently sitting in the chair next to Alex's bed watching Dio crash Alex's "Mobility chair" or whatever the hell they called it into the wall for the third time. "Oops."

"You keep pushing the wrong switch. You want the green one in front." He advised having long ago figured out what Alex refused to learn.

Alex was somehow managing to ignore both of them as he poured over paper work every once in a while he would pause to absentmindedly rub his palm against the cast.

"Why are you doing that?" Vincent finally asked.

"Because it itches. Why don't you do something productive instead of playing with Dio?"

"I am doing something productive. I'm keeping Dio from bugging you."

"Hey..." Dio frowned, but brightened up almost immediately. "I have an idea! Why don't we get Alex in his chair and see how fast it can go down the hall?"

Vincent snorted into his coffee cup Alex didn't even look up. "I have a better idea. Why don't you go bother someone else, so I can finish this before lunch?"

Dio let himself slide lower into the chair, to where his feet left the foot rest and settled on the floor. "But everyone is so busy." The boy wined, pouting at Alex who continued to ignore him.

"In case you haven't noticed I am also busy."

"I know but you can't get away from me."

Alex turned his head up from the papers this time and glared at Dio. Vincent couldn't stop himself from laughing. Alex turned and glared at him too. "You should be more careful Dio. If they let you go back to the Silvana like you want, Sophia won't be there to keep him from killing you this time."

When he looked at Alex again, the man was staring at him. "...What?"

"Sophia didn't tell you?"

Vincent's brows drew together in confusion. "Didn't tell me what?" he asked quietly.

Alex set the papers aside, and took a deep breath. "I'm not going back to the Silvana."

A loud thump made them both look up. Dio had fallen out of the chair, and was now staring at Alex with a look of shock that Vincent realized must be mirrored on his own face. He looked back at Alex as Dio picked himself up off the floor. "You don't mean that."

Alex snorted. "Vince, look at me. I've lost a hand, my arm hasn't even healed enough to try a prosthetic _I don't even know if I'll be able to use_. I'm taking more medications than I can count every day, and can't even tell you what half of them are for. It could be years before I'm even able to _stand_ on my own again... What good is a captain who can't get around his owns ship?..."  
When he looked up at Vincent again he looked tired, but at the same time as if some weight he had been carrying was gone. "The war is over Vincent, Delphine is gone, the Grand Stream is gone. There is no reason for me to be in the skies any more.... Sophia offered me a position as an adviser, last night I accepted."

Vincent couldn't think of anything to say. It was a logical choice of course, and there had been talk here, and there among the Silvana's crew..But he'd never imagined. Vincent set his cup on the side table and moved to sit on the bed where he pulled the unprepared Alex into a hug.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing!" Alex growled out shocked and embarrassed. He stiffened immediately when Dio hugged him from the other side. "Wonderful, now you've got him started. Get. Off. Now." By the time he pushed them off he was red faced, and papers had been scattered everywhere.

Vincent, and Dio began gathering papers off the floor, not looking at Alex who they were both very sure wanted to kill them now. Though Dio most likely wasn't looking up because he couldn't stop grinning at the moment. After returning the papers, Dio was banished back to the chair on the other side of the room. Vincent decided it was probably safer to sit on Sophia's bed, instead of the chair next to Alex.

"Have you already resigned?" Vincent asked after several moments of listening to Alex grumble under his breath about _"idiots, with no concept of personal space.”_ as he tried to get the papers back in order. "No. There's still a lot to do before we make things official. Mostly I just want to keep it as quiet as possible."

Vincent hummed shortly in response, picking up the half finished coffee. "Who's going to take over?"

"Campbell, I imagine, unless you want to."

Vincent paused coffee cup half way to his lips and gave Alex a flat look. "Alex I can't take over your ship, the crew wants to beat me up remember."

Alex, still sorting papers didn't look up, but Vincent was sure he was smirking. "Well that's your own fault isn't it."

* * *

The resignation two days latter did turn out to be a quiet event. With only a few members of the crew there, along with Vincent, and Dr. Actias. Though Vincent found himself surprised at just how little was said as Alex, and Sophia formally handed command of the Silvana over to Arthur Campbell. This had been expected by the crew, especially after Alex lost his hand. That didn't seem to make it any easier for them to swallow. He was pretty sure Wina was doing her best not to cry by the end of it.

Afterward however it didn't take long for word to get around, and everyone was talking. Though true to form no one seemed to know exactly what was going on. When Sophia's counselors found out they were very unhappy. "This is an insult! An outrage! Do you hear me Duke Mad-Thane. Not only does that insolent child ignore our council, now she is including that raving mad man in imperial decisions!"

Duke Aster had not been expecting rather harsh slap across the face David gave him. "I would like to remind you to choose your words more carefully Duke Aster. Do not forget the insolent child, as you call her _is your Empress_ , and one of the main reasons we are no longer at war. Captain...Counselor Row, has already been an unofficial adviser to Her Majesty just as Admiral Alzey, and I have. He is not replacing anyone, but should you continue on path you are currently treading he might." It was amazing how calm he had sounded. The imperial council never having seen the man so much as raise his voice to anyone before was shocked into silence. David wondered if something had finally gotten through to them, at least temporarily.

Not long after the other members of the council arrived, including Alex. None of them aware that they were right where the enemy wanted them.

As the escort guards took their places at the doors, Sophia stood to begin the meeting. "In light of recent occurrences, I would like to suggest a change in current priorities. As you know most of the populace of Prester now resides in Anatoray territory. This city is currently the main provider of clean water for the people, while the new water filtration facilities are being constructed. Even with the guilds technology, the filtration facilities here may have trouble keeping up with the supply needed in the future. Our need for water is what makes us most vulnerable to our current enemy. If the facilities under construction should be attacked the effects would be devastating. I propose we move what ever defense forces we can spare to protect the construction sites."

As the discussion continued Alex quietly looked about the room. Everything was far more subdued than he had expected. No arguments, or even snide comments so far. He was actually beginning to feel drowsy. Others seemed to feel the same including Sophia and Vincent.

It wasn't until Nestor suddenly slumped forward in his chair that anyone realized something was wrong, and by then it was far to late. Alex covered his face with his sleeve, even the guards slid to floor unconscious. He shouted for Sophia to get out of room, but as soon as she stood from her chair she collapsed to the floor. In a mater of moments he was the only one awake. Guild people, masked and armed rushed into the room, they all wore the emblem of a bleeding rose. A girl put a gun to his head. "Why isn't he out like the others?"

"The meds, that traitor has him on are probably having a counter affect on the gas." A young man answered. "It doesn't matter, he can't do anything."

Alex found himself though still conscious, unable to think clearly. Another man walked over and kicked the chair hard enough to knock it over and send Alex to the floor. He then kicked Alex nearly sending him into the wall. The pain caused him to black out for a moment, he was sure he some ribs had been fractured. He'd landed beside the unconscious Atlas.

"Axarus! Enough! Darius wants them alive." The girls harshly reprimanded the man.  
Axarus snorted and glared at Alex, but did not attack again. The group was soon distracted with keeping those already attempting to rescue the council at bay, and removing the council members they had deemed more important out of the room.

Alex noticed a small sheathed dagger on Atlas' belt. Quietly he took the dagger and shoved it into the top of his cast, gritting his teeth at the pain trying not to make a sound. If they lived through this he was going have to thank Actias for what ever painkillers he had been put on, he should definitely be feeling more pain than he was. He also managed to take one of the guns Atlas carried, a small pistol, but had to quickly hide it inside his coat when the girl ordered two other men to take him as well. It was a sharp, swift blow to the back of the head that finally knocked him out.

It was a loud, but distant explosion that woke him up. After waking the first thing he realized was that the pain killers had worn off. "...ah..Son of a bitch.."

"Alex?"

He turned his head to see Sophia and Nestor looking at him with worry. "Have I been coughing up blood or anything?" Sophia shook her head biting her lip. "Good... Very good." Despite their protest, and the pain he managed to get into a sitting position, and leaned his back against the cold metal wall. He looked around the room, it was a large, bare room with no windows. The lights in the ceiling high above them provided little light. It seemed to be some kind of abandoned store house. All the council members were present, he couldn't see any of the guards however, and hoped they had only been left behind.

The next thing he did was check his cast for the hidden dagger. It was still there. He found the pistol as well. _They hadn't bothered to search him_. After sending a silent prayer of thanks to which ever god had caused such stupidity, he vowed to make them regret it. He handed the dagger to Sophia. "How did you?..."

"I took them from Atlas, after the rest of you passed out. Apparently I'm not worth searching."

There was another explosion this time closer, followed by gunfire. Vincent who had been standing by one of the doors walked over and sat beside Sophia. "Hey your finally awake,... Why am I not surprised that you have a gun?"

Alex ignored him. "What's going on?"

"As far as we know we are still in the city." Sophia answered. "They tried to take Dio, and Alvis too, but were stopped. From what we've heard they are both safe on the Silvana right now."

Alex sighed, and winced at the pain it caused. "That's good at least...dammit..it's my fault you're here, when you shouldn't be.."

"Of course it isn't! Alex don't be ridiculous." Sophia chided frowning at him.

"It is my fault Sophia, because I'm the one wh.."

"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm terribly sorry for the inadequate accommodations. I would much prefer to have you housed at our base in Disith, but because of interference we have been delayed." The guilds man who had entered followed by eight, armed guilds people, had to be even older than Nestor. He was heavy set, and bald. He smiled pleasantly at them, and carried a light conversational tone, however it only took one look into his eyes to realize the man was completely insane.  
"Forgive me. I'm being rude, I am the commander of the Blood Rose army, My name is Darius Bassianus."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this story was going to end with out any major conflict, and the Blood Rose Army was going to be a minor note till a possible future story. The fic kind of got away from me...
> 
> Darius Bassianus: Time to get my historical geek on. Originally he was just some crazy guild dude with a different name, but I decided why not? He is named after Darius III of Persia who was defeated in battle by Alexander the Great. (Who along with being a great military leader, also reportedly had a bad temper, and problems with alcoholism...Gee that sounds kind of familiar.)  
> He is Marius' older half-brother, and Euris' uncle. He is very loyal to Delphine, but was useless to her as he was an illegitimate child, and never learned the Bassianus Mysteria. She had him tortured to insanity for her amusement.(Not that he was all that stable to begin with.) Marius, and Euris both thought he had been killed.
> 
> Hesperia is a Greek name meaning evening star.
> 
> Axarus is the name of an insect that looks a bit like a mosquito.


	6. Departure

_"Bassianus...It can't be.."_ Alex thought to himself, his pain forgotten in the momentary shock. "How?...Marius, and Euris thought you had been killed after you betrayed them, and allowed her mother to be murdered!"

Whatever illusion of pleasantness the man carried immediately vanished. "I will not be spoken to in that manner! Not by the dog, of an insect queen! Certainly not about that traitor, and the half-breed beast he cared for more than his own queen!" Darius shouted, his face going red with anger.

Alex, and Sophia were both just as furious, though more for the comment about Euris, than what had been said about them.

Darius continued to rant, while his solders calmly awaited orders. "The Maestro was a goddess in mortal form, you lowly beasts had been graced with her presence! Yet you defied her at every turn! Taking for granted the gifts she bestowed upon you, Far more than you deserved! And you!" He growled, pointing at Sophia. "Dared to strike her down. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Bring her to me!"

Two men stepped forward and grabbed Sophia pulling her away, as the other guards raised their weapons in preparation to fire, keeping Alex, Vincent, and Nestor from protecting her. She did manage to keep hold of the dagger, hiding it in the folds of her long skirt.

"We will begin our war on the betrayers soon." Darius said calmly having regained his composure. He pulled Sophia to him placing a dagger of his own at her throat. "Only those who have remained loyal to Maestro Delphine shall be permitted to live on the new world. Only they are worthy of such paradise. For now, we will settle for vengeance. We will begin with the beast who dared to slay a god."

"You have the wrong beast."

Darius glared at Alex. "Don't be absurd, dog, I saw everything that happened to the Maestro's ship!"

Alex smirked. "But you didn't see what happened inside. Rose vines don't make very good restraints." He raised his now hand-less arm. "I got loose, and strangled Delphine until her neck snapped. Your _"goddess"_ was dead before the Silvana ever fired that shot."

Darius lost it again, snarling in rage, and allowing Sophia break away from him. When one of the solders tried to grab her, she used her dagger and managed to get a lucky strike at the man's neck. Vincent dived forward and grabbed the fallen man's gun, but earned a shot to the left shoulder for his efforts. Darius dived at Alex, who promptly put a bullet in his head. The other counselors, mostly guild, took advantage of the confusion and attacked the solders.

When it was over, several counselors were dead. Most were injured including Duke Aster who had taken a shot in thigh. He was very put out about this, and made sure everyone knew. He was mostly ignored. Darius' solders were all dead however and some of the guild council members had found a way to keep the rest of the rebels locked out of the store room Hesperia was using a device embedded in the wall to try and make contact with the rescuers. All they could do now was tend to the wounded, and wait for rescue.

"Ow..." Vincent winced as David, who had avoided getting shot, bandaged his shoulder.

"Stop whining you baby." Alex said calmly.

Vincent frowned. "Shut up! You don't know how much this hurts.." He turned glaring, only to see Alex glare right back. "Right....Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to... That was brilliant how you made that up, and got Darius to lose control like that." He grinned he was feeling rather lightheaded again, but Alex remained silent and looked down at his remaining hand resting over the cast.

Sophia, siting on his other side placed her hand over his. "You didn't make that up, did you." She asked her voice barley above a whisper. When Alex still refused to look up. Sophia placed her hands on the sides of his face and lifted his head so she could look him in the eyes, he didn't resist. "Why?"

"When, Actias was talking...The look on your face. I didn't want you to know, I didn't want you to think you had fired that shot for no reason... I'm sorry."

They were silent for a few moments, when Vincent no longer able to stand the tension carefully put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "That was very sweet of you."

Alex turned and glared at him. "No, it wasn't, if I hadn't been such a damn coward about it I would have been the target from the beginning like I should have been and Sophia might not even be in danger."

Silence reigned again for several minutes when Vincent carefully leaned toward David, and Nestor speaking in a loud whisper. "I don't care what he says, I still think it was sweet."

David sighed. "Perhaps you should lie down until help arrives, you are looking a bit pale Vincent."

Vincent smiled. "I can _do_ that!" he said enthusiastically, as he moved to lay on the floor.

Alex looked at Sophia again. "Is that what I was like under the anesthesia?"

Sophia Smiled. "No. You were much worse."

Alex snorted, then winced at the pain, and sat back against the wall carefully. When Sophia reached over and laced her fingers with his a few moments later he didn't pull away.

* * *

Rescue came four hours later. All of them whether injured or not were taken immediately to the hospital, and kept there under guard over night. Vincent would ,fortunately, fully recover, As would many of the other survivors. Sophia was only now finding out what had gone on after the rescue.

"When the interrogations were over, and we found the location of the Disith base it looked like the place had been cleaned out for a while. Everything indicated someone had set Darius, and his followers up for a fall." Arthur Campbell stood probably far more relaxed than he should as he finished reporting to his empress, and former captain.

Sophia nodded, sitting once again in the hospital chair beside Alex's bed. "Thank you, Arthur. I'm glad to hear none of you were injured. I wish you luck on your current assignment."

Campbell saluted. "Thank you, Your Highness...Sophia. We'll be leaving withing the hour. I'll try to pass the luck onto Ressius. He'll need it with his new apprentice."

Alex snorted, laying in the bed. He'd had his eyes closed the entire time, Campbell had though he was asleep. "What is Dio doing now?" He still didn't open his eyes.

Campbell sighed. "He's decided the ship needs a cat... He's named it Aphid, and is trying to teach it to use the lavatory....So far is seems to prefer Godwin's boots."

Sophia couldn't stop herself from laughing. She was happy for Dio, who was finally getting his wish of being able to return to the Silvana. They had been surprised when the boy had excitedly told them of the guild council had not changed it's previous decision, especially after the indecent with Darius. Though when Sophia thought about it she didn't know what else they would do with the boy. The guild didn't want another Maestro, and even if they did, Dio had been very clear that it would not be him. She would miss him, as she would the rest of the crew, along with Claus, Lavie, and Alvis.

Campbell left soon after, to attend his duties as captain. Alex, and Sophia rested in a comfortable silence for a while. Sophia turned and watched Alex lay with his eyes closed for a few moments, sensing her stare he turned and looked at her. "What?"

She smiled. "How are you feeling?" The injuries from the incident the day before had turned out thankfully, not to be as severe as Alex had originally thought. Two ribs had minor fractures, but it was mostly bruising, knowing that didn't make it any less painful however.

"I'm getting really sick of this bed."

"I knew that. I'm asking if you are in any pain." Sophia stated smiling at him.

"I'm fine... You don't have to worry so much. How is Vince?" He asked to get the subject away from himself.

"Complaining. Dr. Actias says the wound hasn't caused any nerve damage. He should be discharged by tomorrow." She answered. "His parents, and Emma are here. They got into an argument because some battle he was in kept him from showing up at her wedding. She's convinced he did it on purpose."

Alex winced in a rare show of sympathy for his friend. "If you see her heading this way, tell her I'm dead."

Sophia couldn't stop herself from laughing at that. Afterward she sat beside him quietly as he drifted off to sleep. Later she would go visit with Vincent before heading back into the fray. There was still so much work to be done, but for now she was going to enjoy the peace, and quiet as long as she could.

* * *

 

Time passes, and somehow even the most difficult of goals is reached. The preparations had finally been finished. Celebrations were over. Now it was time for those who were leaving, and those staying behind to part ways. Many families were giving tearful farewells to one another as many prepared to go off into the unknown.

Sophia shook Nester Messina's hand for what she desperately hoped would not be the last time. "I Don't know which of us has the more difficult path to travel. I wish you luck Commander Messina, and I hope to see you again."

Nestor smiled fondly at the Empress. "I wish you luck as well, Your Highness."

Not far away the crew of the Silvana, along with Alex were saying their good byes to the crew members who had decided to go to Earth, as they had learned their destination was called from Exiles computers.

Ethan seemed increasingly reluctant to let go of Alis' hand. They were both blushing, and Tatiana smirked at them saying something quietly that made them both blush more. Dunya's little brother, and sister were hiding behind her staring at the former captain with an air of caution, as she and Mullin spoke to the mechanics. Sophia had learned, talking to Dunya that the children had decided Alex was scarier than Baba Yaga, She’d had to ask what a Baba Yaga was, never having heard of it before. But not nearly as scary as Dunya when she was angry.

Claus and Lavie were talking with Dio, who seemed determined to hang off of Claus for as long as he could. Vincent, and David walked over to Sophia, and Nestor followed by David's family and Alvis. Sophia knelt down so she could give Alvis a hug. "Good luck. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Alvis replied beginning to tear up.

After everyone leaving had gone aboard and Exile, and the gate of the massive air lock sealed over the ship. Sophia stood for a while watching Exile drift away through the windows of the star ship's dock. It still seemed so strange that only months ago none of them had known this existed. They hadn't even been sure what Exile was. She placed her and on the window, silently praying for the safety of those on board.

She was so lost in though she didn't even notice Alex calling her name until he reached up and gently took her hand. "Sophia? Are you all right?"

She turned and smiled at him. "Sorry. I'm fine. I just.." She looked back out the window.

Alex followed her gaze. "I know. I'm worried too, but if anyone can succeed at this, they can."

She smiled and nodded, still watching the ship. Alex grabbed her hand again. "It's getting late... And, we still have a lot do, so we can be ready when they return."

 _"When."_ She thought. _"Not if.."_ She turned and smiled at him. "When did you become such an optimist?"

He laughed a bit, resting his chin on the prosthetic hand he was still getting used too. She had to compliment whoever made it on their work. You couldn't tell it wasn't his real hand until he took his shirt off. "It's not me, it's the pills Actias has me taking. Anyway, I lost Vincent somewhere around the Silvana. We should probably find him before the crew does."

Sophia laughed reaching to turn the chair around, and push it. She had become used to doing so, though he had months ago finally stopped being stubborn, and learned the controls. They chatted lightly over plans for tomorrow, as they went off to search for their wayward friend.

Behind them, a lone ship traveled the stars. Its destination, a tiny blue world waiting for her children to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baba Yaga, like Vasilisa is from Russian fairy tales


	7. Epilogue

Alex laid the flowers at the foot of the small memorial stone in the midst of the palace gardens. He slowly traced the engraved words with his fingers.  
                                                          


  


  
**Euris Bassianus**   
**Eternally Beloved,**   
**Too early taken from the world,**   
**in her efforts for the peace of Prester.**   


  


  
The trees were blossoming again, and he had to pause to brush several petals out of his hair.

The most difficult thing, he had decided was to live. To breathe, without the crushing guilt. To realize that perhaps, he was finally doing what they would have wanted him to do. What _she_ would have wanted him to do.

The quiet rustle of fabric behind let him know Sophia was there before she sat on the stone bench beside his chair. When she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder he reached up and gently squeezed it. "We were waiting for you... I wish I could talk to her, the way Dio talks to Lucciola."

Sophia smiled. "You never had to say anything before. I don't think you need to now, I'm sure she knows everything... I'm sorry, I was late today. Duke Aster." She rolled her eyes, making Alex laugh. "It's amazing how that man can make your name sound like something that shouldn't be spoken around children."

"Already? But, I haven't done anything...Not today anyway."

Sophia smiled and laid her own small bouquet at the foot of the stone. They had been busy lately, especially now with Vincent off patrolling Disith territory in the Horatius, his new Urbanis Class ship, one that had not yet been completed before the war had ended. They both envied him, and the crew of the Silvana still flying free in the skies.

Other than meetings, and meals, which were really just more meetings with food involved, they rarely had time to just relax and talk together. Mornings in the garden were really the only time they had to sit and remember, to be themselves. If only for a few moments.

"Your Highness! Counselor Row!"

The two of them turned to see a young maid rushing toward them. When she got to them, she handed Sophia a message tube only managing to get out "Transmission ...from... Guild city..Said it was important." Before she had to sit and catch her breath.

Sophia quickly opened the tube and read the message inside as Alex waited apprehensively. His apprehension faded as Sophia's face lit up she handed him the message, it was short, and to the point.

  


  
_To Her Majesty, Empress Sophia,_   
_We have arrived safely on Earth, and are settling well._   
_Exile is being prepared for return to Prester. We will send you_   
_another transmission with more information as soon as we are_   
_able._   
_Duke, David Mad-Thane_   
_C. Nestor Messina_   


  


  
Sophia smiled brightly, when Alex looked up at her after reading the message. He found he couldn't keep himself from grinning. They had made it, and they were safe! There was so much to do.

Sophia turned to the servant girl, who was standing up again but still looked winded. "Please take this message, and have it copied, I want copies sent to the Silvana, and the Horatius."

The girl bowed "Yes, Your Highness."

"And don't run." Alex added when the girl looked ready to take off again.

"Y...Yes, sir" the girl stammered as she left, far more slowly than she had planed to.

They both turned back to Euris' memorial sharing a few moments of sad silence that the time there had been cut short, even by such wonderful news. Sophia sighed and turned to Alex. "Are you ready?" Alex nodded, and she grabbed the back of his chair. It was going to be a long day, but they planed to make it a good one.

As once was written in another story, lost long ago to the people of Prester: _"They went away together, out of this story and into another."_

  


  
**The end.**   


  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quote is from The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle. I highly recommend the book to everyone.
> 
> Horatius is a Latin name that means hour, or time. According to the site I found it on, in Greek it means guardian.

**Author's Note:**

> There are some OCs in this: Actias and his family are all named for the Saturniidae family of moths.
> 
> The Actias family is one of the lesser families of the guild, Not nearly high enough that any would ever be considered for Maestro, but before Delphine's coup they held some power as council members.
> 
> Iakona Actias: Age fifty seven, is a chain smoking father of three. Married to Andrea Actias nee: Attacus a retired guards woman who now trains students in the guilds martial arts along with their son Atlas. (named after the Attacus Atlas moth.) Father and son don't see one another very often which is probably for the best as they don't get along very well. About the only thing they've ever had in common was a hatred for Delphine. Anyone entering his office will first notice two things: the smell of cigarette smoke, and several pamphlets, booklets, and informative papers on the dangers of smoking. These are left by his daughters in their efforts to get him to quit. He mostly uses them as impromptu ashtrays. His first name is a form of Jason and means healer.  
> The guild tradition he speaks of is made up by me, and as far as I know has no basis in the actual series.
> 
> Isis Actias: Age seventeen, She is a doctor in training. She is skilled enough to follow in her mothers footsteps but chose, out of a distaste for violence to follow her father. She spends most of her free time keeping Luna out of trouble. She is named after the Actias Isis moth.
> 
> Luna Actias: age thirteen but she's small for her age. A doctor in training like her sister Isis. When she's not training under her fathers supervision she's a typical energetic child usually getting into a bit of mischief. Unlike her sister and brother she has no aptitude for fighting. She has several collections of small odds and ends mostly of objets from Anatoray and Disith, as she does not get to go to either country very often, and both fascinate her. Her big fixation at the moment is buttons, and she was a bit put out to see that the Silvana uniforms had zippers instead. Several other people however are going to wonder what happened to their uniforms when they are well enough to be discharged. She is of course named after the Luna moth, Actias Luna.


End file.
